how to get on a hotshot crew

In the United States, a hotshot crew, officially known as an interagency hotshot crew (IHC), is a handcrew of xx-22 wildland firefighters which responds to large, high-priority fires beyond the land and are assigned to work the most challenging parts of the fire. Hotshot crews are the most highly trained, skilled and experienced type of handcrews. They are qualified to provide leadership for initial-attack and extended-set on on wildland fires. Hotshots are trained and equipped to work in remote areas for extended periods of time with minimal logistical support. They are organized by agencies such every bit the United states of america Woods Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of State Management, and state/canton agencies; the National Interagency Burn Center coordinates hotshot crews on the federal level.

A member of the Ventana Hotshots works to keep burn down out of a tree canopy during backfiring operations on the Monument Fire.

History [edit]

Prior to the 1930s, wildland firefighting crews were organized on an "as-needed" basis, hiring firefighters without any formal feel or preparation.^[1] The Civilian Conservation Corps, which operated from 1933 until 1942, was a work relief program that employed immature men primarily in natural resource conservation projects. CCC members were also utilized for fire suppression operations, yet, marking the first fourth dimension that continuing crews had been established for that purpose.^[2]

At least one of the first crews carrying the name of "hotshots" originated out of a former CCC campsite in the San Bernardino National Woods in Southern California.^[3] Alien sources report the first hotshot crews as starting in 1946 (Del Rosa and Los Padres Hotshots)^[3] or 1947 (Del Rosa and El Cariso Hotshots).^[1] In 1961, the Inter-Regional Fire Suppression (IRFS) programme was developed, establishing half-dozen 30-human being crews across the Western United states of america.^[2] These IRFS crews were stationed most airports for quick transportation to high-priority fires. Due to their effectiveness and value in fire management, the program expanded to xix IRFS crews past 1974.^[1]

In 1980, the term interagency hotshot crew was adopted by IRFS crews.^[2] In the mid-1990s, an Interagency Hotshot Coiffure Operations Guide was adult to standardize the training, qualifications and responsibilities of hotshot crews. As of 2022 there are 113 hotshot crews across the nation.

Operations [edit]

Members of the Flathead IHC

A hotshot crew consists of approximately 20–22 members, led past a minimum of one superintendent, i or two assistant superintendents, two or three squad leaders, and ii senior firefighters.^[4]

Hotshot crews are proficient in a range of burn suppression tactics. Similar other handcrews, IHCs are primarily tasked with constructing, firing out and holding firebreaks, through the employ of chainsaws, paw tools, ignition devices and water commitment equipment. Hotshot crews can engage in all phases of wildfire response, from initial attack to mop-upwardly. They are also trained in specialized operations, such equally hot spotting, spot burn down attack, tree felling and structure protection.

In order to effectively perform their duties, hotshot crews must maintain a loftier level of physical fettle. Aerobic fitness is correlated with the time it takes to attain a safety zone. The minimum physical fitness standards for hotshots set by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group are: a iii-mile hike carrying a 60-pound pack in nether xc minutes, 1 and a one-half-mile run in 10:30 or less, 25 push-ups in lx seconds, 45 sit down-ups in sixty seconds and 2 pull-ups.

While not fighting fires, hotshot crews typically piece of work in their home units to meet resource goals such as thinning, prescribed fire operations, forest improvement, and trail structure projects. Hotshot crews can also answer to other emergency incidents, including search and rescue and disaster response. In 2022, the Cherokee IHC was assigned to clear trees downed past rare tornadoes in Prospect Park and Kissena Park in New York Metropolis, their commencement deployment to an urban setting.^[5]

Fatal accidents [edit]

1966 El Cariso Hotshots Crew ii

On November 1, 1966, the El Cariso hotshot coiffure were trapped by flames in the Loop Burn as they worked on a steep hillside in Pacoima Canyon in Angeles National Forest. An unanticipated upslope air current came upwardly in the afternoon and a spot fire was fanned and funneled up the steep canyon. The coiffure were cutting handline downhill and near of the crew were unable to accomplish safety in the few seconds they had. X members of the coiffure died on the Loop Fire that twenty-four hour period, and another two members died from burn injuries in the post-obit days. Almost of the xix El Cariso crew members who survived were critically burned and remained hospitalized for some time. The Downhill Indirect Checklist, improved firefighting equipment and improve fire-behavior training all resulted, in part, from the lives lost on this burn down.^[6]

On July 6, 1994, nine members of a hotshot crew based in Prineville, Oregon, died afterward beingness overtaken past the fast-moving South Coulee Fire on Storm Male monarch Mountain w of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Five other firefighters, three smokejumpers and two helitack firefighters, also died in the incident.^[seven]

On June 30, 2022, nineteen members of the Granite Mount Hotshots perished in the Yarnell Hill Fire near Yarnell, Arizona. Nineteen of the twenty members of the coiffure were killed when their escape route was cut off past an approaching fire. All of the entrapped members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots deployed their burn down shelters.^[8] The incident was made into a film, Just the Brave.

Come across likewise [edit]

Lone Pinnacle Hotshots
Fire use module
Smokejumper
Wildland fire engine
Wildland fire suppression

References [edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c Alexander, Martin E. (Summer 1974). "High Mobility: The Interrgional Burn Suppression Crew" (PDF). Burn down Management . Retrieved 2012-07-17 .
^ ^a ^b ^c National Park Service. "History of the Interagency Hotshot Coiffure Program". Retrieved 2012-07-01 .
^ ^a ^b "Del Rosa Hot Shots". Fire Department Network news. 2022-06-27. Archived from the original on 2022-06-21. Retrieved 2012-07-18 .
^ https://www.nifc.gov/policies/policies_documents/StandardsInteragencyHotshotCrewOps.pdf^{[ dead link ]}
^ White, Rebecca (September 28, 2022). "Urban Plough for Workers Accustomed to the Wood". The New York Times.
^ "Colorado Firecamp - Loop Fire Disaster, A Cursory of the Analysis Group". https://www.coloradofirecamp.com/fire-origins/loop-burn down-brief.htm.
^ Butler, Bret W.; Bartlette, Roberta A.; Bradshaw, Larry S.; Cohen, Jack D.; Andrews, Patricia L.; Putnam, Ted; Mangan, Richard J. (September 1998). "Fire Behavior Associated with the 1994 South Canyon Burn on Storm King Mountain, Colorado" (PDF). Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. Us Section of Agriculture. RMRS-RP-ix. Retrieved 2008-03-04 .
^ "Yarnell Hill Serious Accident Investigation Report". Google Docs.